


tulips, yellow

by NoNoLeeKnowNo



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, Kim Seungmin & Lee Felix are Best Friends, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, M/M, Pining, Short & Sweet, Siblings Hwang Hyunjin & Hwang Yeji, Soft Hwang Hyunjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27790033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoNoLeeKnowNo/pseuds/NoNoLeeKnowNo
Summary: seungmin loves the sunshine in hyunjin's smile.flowershop!au
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 29
Kudos: 105





	1. LAVENDER ROSE

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! thank you so much for clicking on this book. this was a short piece i wrote in order to break a bad case of writer's block a few months ago. i hope you enjoy!  
> (intentional lowercase)

𝓁𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓇𝑜𝓈𝑒: 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

x

business was slow that day, and seungmin was bored. he stood behind the counter, scanning the room for the hundredth time in hopes that he would find something new to be interested in, even if it was for only a second. he had accidentally left his apartment that morning without grabbing his phone, and as a result, found himself at work with nothing to do to occupy his time. he could perfectly see the image in his head of his phone that laid on his bedside table, still plugged in. it was probably far past charged at this point.

seungmin sighed, leaving the counter and heading to the employee room (could it really be called that?). it was more or less a storage closet with a few folding chairs that had been set out for the workers to sit in, but he wasn't going to complain. he and felix had spent a lot of their work hours there, messing around and not working, only coming out if a customer entered the shop. felix never failed to keep seungmin entertained during the day.

but felix wasn't there that day, leaving seungmin completely alone and bored in the flower shop at the end of the street. he frowned at the shelves for a moment before going to pick up the watering can yet again, making his way out of the employee room and to the many rows of potted flowers and herbs.

he made his way down the aisles, watering the plants for the third time that day. he poured only the slightest amount of water into the pots, not wanting to accidentally overwater the flowers in his attempt to cure his boredom.

he absentmindedly did his job, moving as slowly as he possibly could as he thought of what to do next. he decided that taking a nap sounded like a good idea.

seungmin frowned as he thought, returning to the employee room to put away the watering can. he couldn't take a nap, he was working alone!

_if only felix was here._

luckily, he didn't have to think for much longer about what to do as the bell that was attached to the door frame jingled, signalling that someone had entered the shop.

delighted, he hurried to his spot behind the counter, a warm smile finding its way to his face. he scanned the aisles for whoever had walked in but was unable to find them as they were hidden away behind the rows and rows of plants.

"welcome!" seungmin called, still glancing around the room, hoping to spot the customer. he drummed his fingers against the counter.

"hi!" a male voice called back, most likely from somewhere behind the ferns. "um, do you guys do bouquets?"

"yes, we do," seungmin replied, his breath catching in his throat as the customer appeared in front of the counter, his lips curled upwards in a smile. he had thick, jet black hair that framed the sides of his face and a cute spot under his left eye. seungmin thought he was beautiful.

"perfect!" the customer exclaimed, and seungmin nodded slowly in agreement, biting his lip nervously.

"what were you thinking colorwise?" seungmin managed to get out, turning away from the boy to scan the wall of flowers behind him, already planning the arrangement he would put together.

"uh...."

seungmin peeked over his shoulder at the customer, who looked extremely lost. he giggled to himself as the customer also scanned the wall of flowers, seeming very overwhelmed with the choices he had.

"i don't know, pink?" he finally answered, making seungmin nod. "just do whatever you think would look nice." the brown-haired boy was already reaching for different flowers, pulling a peony, a lily, a petunia. he paused before also taking a few white flowers, turning back to the counter. he reached down to one of the shelves to grab the string that he would use to tie the stems together. he set the string down on the counter and then pulled out a gift tag and a pen. he handed them to the boy.

"you can write whatever you want," seungmin said, starting to form the bouquet. he continued adding flowers and foliage until he thought it looked nice, and after receiving confirmation from the customer, tied the stems together. he then moved on to wrapping the flowers in plastic and tissue paper.

once he had finished, the customer handed him the gift tag.

_to: yeji_ _  
_ _from: hyunjin_ _  
_ _i love you and i'm so proud of you!!_

"lucky girl," seungmin commented, attaching the note to the bouquet and then setting it gently down on the counter. hyunjin gave him an odd look.

"well, she's my sister, so..."

"oh." seungmin's cheeks flushed and he smiled sheepishly at hyunjin, who gave him an awkward nod.

"she's graduating today," the boy said, pulling out his wallet to pay for the bouquet.

"oh, how exciting!" seungmin exclaimed, taking the money from hyunjin and putting it into the cash register, counting the boy's change and then handing it to him. hyunjin hummed, putting the money back into his wallet. he carefully picked up the bouquet that seungmin had arranged.

"oh, and," seungmin added, quickly turning around to face the flower wall once again, pulling a lavender rose from its place. he held it out to hyunjin, who hurriedly put his wallet back into his pocket so that he could take it. "you can have this, since it's your first time shopping here."

seungmin watched as hyunjin's eyes lit up, his cheeks tinting red as he watched the smile form on the black-haired boy's face.

"thank you," hyunjin said, giving seungmin what was possibly the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life. "if i ever need flowers again, i'll definitely come back."

he said goodbye and then turned to leave, using his elbow to open the door, the bell jingling as he left.

seungmin waved to him, the lovestruck look unable to leave his face as he watched hyunjin walk away.

was it too soon to say that he was in love? probably, but the fast beating of his heart in his chest seemed to think otherwise. seungmin pounded lightly on his chest, shaking his head.

"stop it," he said to himself, hoping that his words would halt the feelings he had.

they didn't.


	2. MORNING GLORY

𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝓇𝓎: 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃

x

"you gave him a _what?_ "

seungmin smiled sheepishly at felix, who was back at work after his week-long trip to visit his family in australia.

"a lavender rose," seungmin repeated, and felix shook his head.

"you're ridiculous," felix said, rolling his eyes at his friend playfully. seungmin frowned.

"i am _not!_ " he protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "if you _saw_ how cute he was, you'd understand." felix shook his head again.

"so, what else did you do last week _besides_ tell a boy that you're in love with him?" the aussie asked, laughing as he received a smack on the arm from seungmin.

"i didn't tell him _anything,_ " seungmin insisted. "i only gave him a flower, you're reading too much into this."

"don't act like you don't know the meanings of flowers," felix said, seungmin flushing as he was called out by his friend and coworker. "you knew exactly what you were doing when you handed that to him."

"i'm not talking to you anymore," seungmin said, standing up from the folding chair and leaving the employee room. he would find something to make himself busy with.

he walked down the aisles, straightening the flowerpots that rested on the shelves. as he did so, his mind wandered back to hyunjin and his beautiful smile. he wondered when-- if-- the boy would come back. he had told him that he would (if he ever needed flowers again), but seungmin didn't know if that was really true. he hoped it was, though.

the bell above the door jingled and seungmin nearly gave himself whiplash with the speed he turned his head to look at who was entering the shop. much to his dismay, it was not hyunjin. he returned to straightening the flowerpots, a slight pout present on his face. that was a new habit of his; getting his hopes up whenever the bell rang. he was surprised felix hadn't made a comment on it yet (though, he _had_ only come back to work that morning).

"excuse me?" the customer, a girl with long, dark, hair had approached him. "can you help me find magnolias?"

seungmin smiled at her and led her over to where the white flowers resided. he heard the bell ring again and looked over his shoulder to see who it was, doing a double-take when he saw the familiar face of hyunjin. he looked away quickly, returning his attention to the girl in front of him. he handed her one of the flowerpots and she left, heading over to the counter where felix was waiting to checkout.

all the while, seungmin was having a heart attack, hidden away by the magnolias and peonies. while he was hoping for hyunjin to visit the shop again, he hadn't actually expected him to. he peeked around the shelf, watching as felix put the money he had collected from the girl into the cash register. _he_ wanted to be the one to talk to hyunjin, not felix!

he had an idea.

"felix!" seungmin called, startling the boy. "can you refill the watering cans for me?"

a look of confusion washed over his face as seungmin made his way over, shoving him away from the counter and into the employee room.

"seungmin, what--"

"thank you so much!" seungmin exclaimed, grinning at him as widely as he possibly could. he turned away, taking his spot behind the counter just as hyunjin approached.

"welcome back," seungmin greeted, offering the boy a warm smile. "need another bouquet made?"

"yep," hyunjin replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "my mom saw how pretty yeji's bouquet turned out and now she wants one for her kitchen, or something?"

"ah, okay." seungmin turned away, reaching down to pick up a glass vase. he filled it with water and set it gently down on the counter.

"i think she asked for red and yellow flowers," hyunjin said before seungmin could ask. seungmin nodded and turned to the flower wall, pulling flowers that he thought would look nice together.

felix exiting the employee room, watering cans in both hands, caught seungmin's attention. he watched as the aussie's gaze flickered between seungmin and hyunjin, then back to seungmin. he gave the brown-haired boy a deadpan look, but continued forward and out the door.

seungmin placed a final sunflower into the vase and then stepped back, feeling proud of his work.

"you're so good at that," hyunjin said, shaking his head and reaching to pull out his wallet. seungmin grinned, the compliment only making him even more proud.

"thanks," he said. hyunjin paid for the bouquet, and just like he had the time before, seungmin scanned the flower wall, searching for the perfect flower to give to hyunjin. he pulled a morning glory, handing the delicate blossom to the boy in front of him.

"for you!"

hyunjin gave seungmin that beautiful smile of his, taking the flower from him.

"what for this time?"

"um, your continued support of the store." seungmin answered, satisfied with the reply he had made up on the fly. hyunjin nodded. he gently tucked the blue flower behind his ear, making seungmin's heart start pounding out of his chest. he thought hyunjin looked really pretty like that. the black-haired boy picked up the vase, said goodbye, and was on his way. felix, who was returning with the now-full watering cans, set one down so that he could open the door for hyunjin.

"have a good day," seungmin heard felix say. he watched the aussie catch the door with his foot, struggling to get inside with both of his hands full. seungmin rushed over to him, taking one of the cans from him.

"i'm assuming that'd be your flower boy?" felix asked once he was inside, making seungmin smile.

"yeah, that's him."

felix rolled his eyes.

"i can't believe you."

they walked to the employee room, setting the watering cans back down in their spot. they then sat on the folding chairs in complete silence, seungmin staring at the floor with a stupid smile present on his face.

after a few seconds, felix's voice broke the silence.

"he _is_ pretty cute, though."

"oh my god, _i told you!_ "


	3. HIBISCUS

𝒽𝒾𝒷𝒾𝓈𝒸𝓊𝓈: 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓊𝓉𝓎

x

ever since their first encounter, thoughts of hyunjin had haunted seungmin's mind. his voice, the way he walked, and most of all, his sunshine smile; these thoughts had only been fortified with their second encounter. seungmin could now say it confidently-- he was infatuated with the raven-haired boy and everything about him.

felix seemed to have read his mind as he waved a hand in front of his face suddenly, capturing his attention. seungmin looked up to meet his friend's eyes, a blush appearing on his face as he saw felix's knowing expression.

"don't even say anything," seungmin said, covering his face with his hands. he heard felix's low laugh.

"you're so cute," felix chuckled, making seungmin peek at him through his fingers. of all the words that could have come through his coworker's mouth, he hadn't expected them to be that.

"what?"

felix shook his head, dismissing his previous words with a flick of his wrist.

"you should definitely ask him out or something."

seungmin grimaced, his whole body tensing as he thought about it.

"there's no way."

"so you'll give him flowers but you won't--"

"that's _way_ different," seungmin said, cutting off felix before he could finish his sentence. it was true; even if he really, really wanted to, he didn't see himself asking the boy such a question, especially because of how shy he was. giving hyunjin flowers was already pushing it, but he would do it a million times if it meant seeing the bright look in his eyes.

he had done it again; his mind wandered back to hyunjin, suddenly wondering when (or if) he would see his flower boy once more. he didn't want to sound creepy or stalkerish, but he _had_ noticed that hyunjin had visited on monday both of the times he came into the shop, and that day was a monday, so....

"hello? are you listening?" felix's amused voice interrupted his thoughts. "wow, you really _are_ in love with this dude, huh."

"sorry," seungmin apologized, ignoring felix's comment. "could you say it again?"

"i said, if you don't ask hyunjin on a date i will."

seungmin stared at felix intently, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. his face didn't show it, but seungmin suddenly remembered something.

"no you won't," seungmin said with a smile, letting his face rest in the palm of his hand. "don't think i don't know about that boy you've been texting all last week."

the look on felix's face was priceless. his cheeks tinted red immediately and he stood from the folding chair.

"i don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, leaving the employee room as fast as he could, leaving seungmin to snicker to himself in victory. he had _definitely_ won there.

he continued scrolling mindlessly through his social medias until he got bored, then shoved his phone into his pocket and picked up one of the watering cans, remembering that neither he nor felix had watered the flowers yet that day.

he walked up and down the aisles, pouring water into each of the flowerpots, smiling as he did so. he really liked his job, as he enjoyed being around nature and appreciated the beauty of the earth. he would often times go to the park or the lake when he wanted to relax. he loved being able to take a break from life, forgetting about his worries or anxieties, and simply existing in the beautiful world.

he thought that one day, he would want to take hyunjin with him to one of his places and they could simply exist _together._ but he knew and accepted that it was probably never going to happen, especially if he could never work up the courage to ask (which seemed very likely to him).

seungmin shook his head, as if shaking away his thoughts. he refused to let himself think negatively of his situation, and quickly corrected the thoughts he had had before.

 _i'll ask him one day,_ seungmin promised himself. he didn't know when that day would come, but he was okay with not knowing.

he hummed softly to himself as he worked, looking towards the door with hopeful eyes when he heard the gentle jingling of the bell. to his delight, hyunjin had entered the store, furthering his theory that the boy always visited on mondays.

he greeted the boy, offering him a warm smile.

"good morning," he said, feeling his heart race as hyunjin waved to him cutely. "lovely to see you again," seungmin added, praying that the boy wouldn't notice the redness of his cheeks as he spoke to him.

"everyone really loves your flowers," hyunjin said, pulling at the sleeves of his sweater. "my mom was _so_ happy."

"i'm glad," seungmin replied, genuinely happy that his work was able to brighten the days of others (especially hyunjin and his family).

"i'm here for, um... hydrangeas?" hyunjin said, seungmin smiling at him as he mispronounced the name. seungmin nodded, setting down his watering can and motioning for the boy to follow him. he led him through the isles and to the shelf where the flowers rested, many different colors to pick from. hyunjin hesitated a moment before picking up a pot that contained blue hydrangeas in it.

seungmin then led him to the counter, trying his best to ignore the look felix was giving him. his coworker quickly composed himself, ringing up the flowers that hyunjin brought to the counter. seungmin quickly slid past felix, standing beside him behind the counter. he had already been thinking about what flower he would give hyunjin that day, so as soon as he spotted the beautiful white blossom of the hibiscus, he pulled it from the flower wall.

he waited for hyunjin to be done paying for the hydrangeas he had picked out and then handed him the hibiscus, subtly stepping on felix's foot as hard as he could when he heard the quiet 'oh my god' come from his coworker's mouth.

hyunjin smiled at him brightly, taking the flower from him and admiring it. seungmin watched the boy,

"thank you," hyunjin said softly, eyes flickering up to meet seungmin's.

"you're welcome," seungmin replied, feeling his heart start to beat out of his chest just as it usually did when talking with hyunjin. he briefly wondered if hyunjin was experiencing the same feeling, if hyunjin thought about him as much as _he_ thought of him.

they waved goodbye and hyunjin left, felix immediately turning to roll his eyes at seungmin.

"wow, right in front of my salad?"

"no one says that anymore," seungmin shook his head at felix, the smile never leaving his face as he gently pushed past him, retreating to the employee room.

seungmin thought that the hibiscus was beautiful, but not as beautiful as hyunjin.


	4. WHITE CLOVER

𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇: 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝑒

x

it was a beautiful bright and sunny morning; a morning that seungmin would have preferred to have spent sleeping in his bed at home rather than at the flower shop. it was his and felix's turn to do restock that day, and in turn, had to head into work an hour early so that they could be at least near done by the time the store opened.

seungmin sighed, walking up to the front doors of the store and pulling on them, reaching into his pocket for the key when he found that they hadn't been unlocked yet, meaning that felix hadn't yet arrived. he unlocked the door and stepped inside, immediately making his way towards the employee room so that he could drop off the few things he had brought with him.

he took a seat in one of the chairs, waiting for either feilx to show up or for the restock truck to show up so that he could start without his coworker. after around maybe five minutes of waiting, the bell above the door jingled, signalling to him that felix had arrived. seungmin stood from his chair, leaving the employee room, going to meet his friend, smile on his face.

"good morning," he said, and felix gave him a half-hearted smile back. it was clear that the aussie hadn't gotten much sleep, based on the dark purple circles under his eyes.

"morning," felix said back, sluggishly making his way further into the shop. seungmin followed behind him.

"tired?"

the blond looked at him over his shoulder, giving him a look, before returning to what he was doing.

"wish restock wasn't today." felix sighed, dropping his stuff on the ground next to seungmin's. "had a _long_ night last night..."

seungmin smiled at him, laughing quietly at the way his voice sounded. it was somehow deeper than it usually was and his words were slurred together. seungmin briefly wondered if he had literally just woken up, deciding that his assumption was probably correct after felix completely froze for a second, letting his face rest in his hands. after a moment felix sighed, clapping his hands together suddenly, startling seungmin.

"the truck will be here soon, we should head outside."

seungmin nodded. he flicked the light switch, turning off the employee room lights. together, he and felix left the shop, stepping onto the cement pavement of the sidewalk.

as it turned out, the truck was running late that day, because the two stood outside for a good thirty minutes before the large white flower truck finally appeared, backing slowly into the area beside the flower shop.

once it had come to a full stop, the driver climbed down and greeted felix and seungmin, apologizing for arriving so late. he opened the doors to the back of the truck and felix and seungmin stepped inside, sighing at the amount of work they had to complete.

"let's get started, then," seungmin said, grabbing a flower from the shelf, adjusting his grip on the pot before making his way into the store. he cursed lightly to himself as he realized that they hadn't propped open the door. he awkwardly moved the pot so that he was holding with one hand and he opened the door, keeping it open for felix, who was close behind him. the blond murmured a 'thanks' and hurried inside. seungmin followed after, setting his flower down in its place on one of the shelves, before heading back outside. He made sure to prop open the door with the cinder block that was on the sidewalk outside.

they made many trips, carrying the flowers from the truck into the store. seungmin sighed, wiping his hands on his shirt. felix took a deep breath, leaning against the doorframe.

"i think we're officially open." he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. seungmin frowned.

"but we're not done yet," he said, and felix nodded, pursing his lips.

"if the truck hadn't been late..." he muttered, whirling around, returning to the truck so that he could continue to work. seungmin sighed again, following him. it would probably be okay; they didn't typically get customers that early in the morning, anyway, and if they did happen to get one, either felix or him would have to take care of it.

maybe fifteen minutes had passed and the flower shop employees had almost finished their restock. seungmin entered the truck once again, grabbing another flower pot mindlessly. he made his way across the pavement, staring at the ground as he walked.

"oh, good morning hyunjin!" felix called loudly. seungmin's head snapped up at the boy's name, smile forming on his face immediately as he saw the black-haired boy whom he had developed a little crush on.

"good morning hyunjin, you're here early!" seungmin said, feeling his heart flutter as hyunjin gave him the sunshine smile that he loved.

"yep! thought i'd come early today," hyunjin said. "hey, can i help with that?"

"oh my god, i love you," felix said, making hyunjin laugh. he brought his hand up to his face, covering his mouth. seungmin thought he was adorable.

"we only have a handful of flowers left, but it would help a lot." felix explained, gesturing to the truck. hyunjin nodded.

"i don't know where they go, though," hyunjin said, frowning.

"well," seungmin piped up. "you can carry them to the doorway and i'll put them away. like a relay!"

"okay, got it!"

hyunjin headed off towards the truck, seungmin smiling after him. felix rolled his eyes at the brown-haired boy. hyunjin soon returned with a large flowerpot in his hands, giving it to seungmin so that he could put it on the correct shelf. his heartbeat accelerated out of his chest as his fingertips brushed against hyunjin's. his cheeks flushed and he turned away quickly.

with hyunjin's help, they were able to move even faster and in no time, the three of them had finally finished the monday morning restock.

"good job, everyone!" felix cheered, giving high-fives to both seungmin and hyunjin. they had gone inside, felix leaning over the counter, still slightly out of breath from moving the many heavy flower pots.

"oh!" seungmin exclaimed, whirling around to face the flower wall, plucking a white clover from its place. he turned, reaching out to give the flower to hyunjin.

"thanks for helping us," he said shyly, feeling the butterflies stir in his stomach as hyunjin gave him that beautiful sunshine smile again. he took the stem from seungmin, holding it carefully between his fingers. felix opened his mouth to say something and seungmin gave him an extra hard stomp on the foot, making the blond curse quietly.

hyunjin thanked him, and seungmin swore that his heart was going to beat out of his chest. he smiled at him, silently hoping that hyunjin's heart was going as crazy as his was.


	5. CAMELLIA

𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶: 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓇𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 

𝓅𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶: 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊

x

seungmin sighed, letting his head rest against the counter. he was alone in the flower shop once more as felix had a doctor's appointment and couldn't make it in that day, leaving seungmin to be bored and completely by himself (except for the few customers who would come in) for the entire monday.

 _he'll be back tomorrow,_ seungmin reminded himself for what seemed like the hundredth time. _i only have..._ seungmin pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. _six hours left._

he leaned against the counter again, letting his eyes close, deciding that maybe he would just take a nap so that the time would pass quicker. he was about to drift off when the bell above the door jingled, letting him know that someone had entered the store. he stood up immediately, searching for who had come in, but they had moved too quickly and were hidden away by the rows and rows of flowers.

"welcome!" he called out, crossing his fingers and hoping that the person who had walked in was hyunjin.

seungmin was delighted to see the black-haired boy emerge from the shelves, sunshine smile present on his face as he approached the counter. seungmin smiled back, glad that he had come in so that he could have someone to talk to, even if it was just for a little while.

"good morning, seungmin!" hyunjin greeted, letting his arms rest on the counter when he reached it.

"good morning," seungmin replied, taking a second to admire the boy's appearance but quickly looking away, not wanting to be caught staring.

"Is felix here today?" hyunjin asked, and seungmin shook his head. a pang of _something_ hit seungmin and he frowned, unsure as to why he was feeling this way when hyunjin had come in to talk with him! he should be feeling happy, right?

"he isn't here," seungmin confirmed. "i'm by myself today."

hyunjin hummed a response, and seungmin frowned again. after a second he realized; he wasn't feeling _jealous_ was he?! he had no reason to be jealous (though he was a little upset that hyunjin had asked for felix and not him)!

"well," hyunjin's voice broke seungmin out of his trance and he looked up to meet the boy's eyes. "i could stay here for a while so you won't be bored."

seungmin's face lit up, wide smile forming on his face at hyunjin's words. any feelings of jealousy dissolved immediately. hyunjin wanted to spend time with _him?!_

"really?" seungmin asked, and hyunjin shrugged.

"why not? it must be really boring being here by yourself."

he was so right about that. ever since felix had texted him that morning, telling him that he wouldn't be at work that day, seungmin had dreaded going to the store, but now that hyunjin had offered to keep him company...

seungmin beamed at him, truly appreciating how sweet hyunjin was. just last week, he had helped them with restock, and now he was going to take the time out of his (probably) busy day just so that seungmin wouldn't be bored anymore.

"can you teach me about flowers and stuff?" hyunjin asked shyly, making seungmin's heartbeat accelerate. he nodded quickly, immediately moving from behind the counter so that he could stand beside hyunjin.

"what do you want to know about?" seungmin asked and hyunjin smiled at him.

"everything."

so seungmin led hyunjin around the flower shop, pointing out different flowers and herbs, giving the boy their names and some facts about them such as how to take care of them or how he could grow them himself. every so often, hyunjin would recognize a flower that seungmin had previously given to him and he would ask for extra details about those ones, making seungmin's cheeks flush and his heart race. whenever a customer came in, seungmin made arrangements for them while hyunjin hyped up his arranging skills, which made seungmin embarrassed, but he appreciated the compliments.

Once seungmin had told hyunjin about pretty much every single type of flower in the shop, they headed to the employee break room (which seungmin would probably get in trouble for if his employers caught him) and continued their conversation back there, sitting in the crappy folding chairs that had been set out for the employees. before either of them realized, hours had passed and it was almost time for closing.

seungmin glanced down to his phone, double-taking as he saw the time. he stood up from his chair, a confused expression forming on hyunjin's face.

"it's four fifty," seungmin said, hyunjin's confused expression morphing into a shocked one. hyunjin also stood up, running his hand through his hair sheepishly.

"wow, i really stayed for a long time," he said. "hope you don't mind." he laughed.

seungmin shook his head quickly.

"it was fun," seungmin assured, smiling at hyunjin softly. "thanks for hanging out with me."

"will felix be back tomorrow? i can come in again," hyunjin said shyly, and seungmin beamed.

"he'll be back," seungmin said, nodding his head. "but you can come in anyway."

seungmin led hyunjin out of the employee room, turning off the lights as he left. he stood behind the counter, briefly scanning the flower wall for the right flower. once he found it, he hesitated, trying to decide what color to pick before just taking both pink and white. he turned to Hyunjin, handing the two flowers to him. he took them, staring at them intensely.

"hold on, i can remember what these are."

after a few moments of thinking, hyunjin's signature sunshine smile appeared on his face.

"camellia, right?"

seungmin clapped his hands together, cheering for hyunjin, who had gotten the flower correct. hyunjin flushed at his praise, looking away from seungmin and back down to the pink and white blooms in his hands.

seungmin was grateful for hyunjin, and felt happy that they were able to further their relationship. he felt as if they were real friends now, and that made seungmin happy. maybe, just maybe, now that they were close, seungmin would be able to work up the confidence to ask him on a date.

maybe.


	6. GARDENIA

𝑔𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓃𝒾𝒶: 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒

x

it had been hard for seungmin to get out of bed that morning. it was monday, the start of a new work week, and if he was being honest, he felt like shit.

he sighed, forcing himself out of bed, suppressing a shiver as he threw his blankets off, exposing his bare skin to the cold air of his bedroom. he'd rather not call in sick to work that day; though he hadn't been awake for more than five minutes, he truly felt as if he would just be able to grin and bear it (and he didn't want to miss an opportunity to see hyunjin again, but he told himself that the raven-haired boy _wasn't_ his main motivation for wanting to head into work that day).

seungmin opened his dresser, picking out the clothes that he would wear that day, then headed to the bathroom. he trudged down the hallway and into the room, gently shutting the door behind him. he changed clothes and then brushed his teeth, grimacing at his appearance in the mirror.

_yikes._

he finished brushing his teeth, running his toothbrush under the sink for a few seconds before setting on the counter. he was then on his way to the kitchen where he would try and find something that he felt like eating (and that wouldn't make him feel any worse than he already did). he decided that he would have a bowl of cereal.

once he had finished eating, it was time for him to head into work. he exited his apartment after grabbing his backpack, taking the elevator down to the main floor and then leaving the building, heading to his car.

the drive to the flower shop wasn't too long, only fifteen minutes. he made it there in no time, parking on the curb as he typically did. he learned forward, letting his head rest on the steering wheel for a moment as he took a deep breath. he could make through the day despite his sickness.

after he had finished giving himself his miniature pep talk, he sat up, stepping out of the car, locking it behind him. he entered the flower shop, giving felix a 'good morning' as he walked through the doors. the aussie returned the greeting with much more energy.

it was maybe five minutes until opening and felix, noticing that seungmin wasn't feeling the best that day, offered to water all the flowers for the morning. seungmin smiled at him, thanking him. he really did appreciate it.

seungmin walked to the doors, turning over the closed sign so that it read 'open' instead. he then headed to the counter, leaning on it heavily. he shut his eyes, trying to will his sick feelings away.

the hours seemed to pass by slower than they ever had before and seungmin was seriously starting to regret not calling in sick that day.

"are you okay?" felix asked for probably the twelfth time that day and seungmin sighed and shrugged. he had begun to feel worse as the hours passed instead of better as he had hoped. felix frowned at him, drumming his fingers on the counter for a moment.

"i can handle the rest of today," felix said. seungmin looked up at him, pausing to shut his eyes momentarily as his head spun. "you should seriously go home."

he didn't want to; he felt bad about leaving his friend to work the flower shop all by himself with no one to talk to. before he could voice his concerns, however, felix cut him off.

"it'll be okay," felix continued. "there's only a few hours left anyway, and we don't ever have that many customers."

seungmin hesitated, unsure of what he should do. he really thought that he would be able to make it through the rest of the day, but the idea of going home and crawling into bed under the blankets was extremely tempting...

"okay," seungmin sighed, having decided that he would go home. "text me if anything happens."

felix smiled at him, nodding.

"of course."

seungmin checked his pockets, making sure he had his phone with him still, then grabbed his backpack from the employee room.

"feel better, okay?" felix said, giving seungmin a pat on the shoulder and a smile. "see you tomorrow?"

"probably," seungmin replied, giving felix the best smile he could. and with that, he was on his way, pushing through the doors to the flower shop, heading back over to his car so that he could drive home.

once he reached his apartment, he headed straight for his bedroom, not bothering to change into his pajamas. he climbed under the sheets, pulling the blankets up to his chin, shutting his eyes.

he laid there, almost falling asleep, when suddenly he remembered that he hadn't seen hyunjin yet that day and since he had gone home, wouldn't be able to give him a flower. seungmin frowned, disappointed that he had missed out on talking with hyunjin again. an idea popped into his head and he reached for his phone. he opened his message app, going to text felix.

 **seungmin:** when hyunjin comes in, can you give him a gardenia for me? :)))

felix responded almost immediately, his response making seungmin roll his eyes.

 **felix:** whatever you say, lover boy.

 **felix:** now go to sleep

seungmin couldn't argue with that. he closed out of his messages, shutting off his phone and placing it on his bedside table. he made himself comfy again and shut his eyes, allowing himself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

when he awoke and looked at the clock, he had found that he had slept for far longer than he would've liked. he was _really_ tired, apparently. he sighed, stretching briefly before reaching for his phone, smiling when he saw messages that felix had sent while he was asleep.

 **felix:** hyunjin just came in

 **felix:** he asked about you so i told him you were sick and he was sad

 **felix:** and then he bought some irises

 **felix:** and then i gave him the gardenia and told him it was from you and omg you should've seen his face

 **felix:** the literal sun

 **felix:** anyways everything is going great and if you want i can bring you some food?

seungmin beamed, cheeks flushing red as he read the messages. hyunjin had asked about him? he glanced to the clock again, then back at the text, checking to see when felix had sent them.

 **seungmin:** sorry i didn't answer, i was asleep

 **felix:** i assumed

 **felix:** offer still stands though :)

 **seungmin:** you're the best ily

 **felix:** ily2 :)))


	7. SALVIA

𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒾𝒶: 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒

𝒷𝓁𝓊𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓋𝒶: 𝒾 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊

x

"hyunjin is so beautiful. don't you think?"

felix sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"yes, seungmin."

"he's like, so beautiful. it's not even fair at this point."

seungmin rested his elbows on the flower shop counter, leaning over the surface, his hands under his chin. he stared off into space dreamily, his mind racing with thoughts about the black-haired boy who came into the store every monday. he had missed out on seeing him the previous week, as he had been sick, so he was extremely excited for hyunjin to come in that day, and it showed. felix had only made fun of him for it three times so far, though.

it wasn't his fault that hyunjin was so... perfect. not just in looks, either; the black-haired boy had a beautiful personality, too, and seungmin could talk to him for literal hours. he was just so pure, so sweet, so selfless, and who could forget his beautiful smile that shone brighter than the sun itself? seungmin was definitely whipped for hyunjin, except hyunjin didn't know it.

seungmin went about his day, head snapping up to look at the door whenever the bell above it jingled, signalling that someone had entered. he would then pretend to not be disappointed when he found that it wasn't hyunjin, helping the customer to the best of his abilities (which, most of the time, was just ringing up the flowers they'd brought to the counter). he hadn't yet made a bouquet or arrangement that day and was itching to do so. arranging was his favorite part of his job.

after standing at the counter for maybe thirty minutes with no customers, seungmin walked around to the employee break room, where felix already was. seungmin took a seat in one of the folding chairs, offering the aussie a smile. felix rolled his eyes at him, but smiled back.

"he's coming in today, right?" seungmin asked, biting the inside of his lip. he glanced down to his phone to check the time, frowning as he saw it was becoming late. felix shrugged, but when he saw seungmin's expression fall even further, he hurried to correct himself.

"he probably will," felix reassured. "why wouldn't he? he has every week for like, a month."

seungmin nodded. felix was right; hyunjin had indeed come into the store every monday, without fail. he felt as if he should stop worrying about it, but couldn't help it. there were two hours until closing and the black-haired boy hadn't yet entered the store.

seungmin stood from his chair, deciding that he would water the flowers again. he had already that morning, but thought that a little more water wouldn't hurt. he picked up the watering can and headed back into the store. he walked up and down the rows of shelves, pouring small amounts of water into each of the flower pots. once he had finished, he walked outside, filling up the can before bringing it back to the employee break room. he set the watering can back down where he had gotten it from. felix was still sitting in his folding chair, mindlessly scrolling twitter.

the sweet sound of the bell above the door jingling filled their ears, and seungmin dashed into the store, a wide smile forming on his face as he saw hyunjin. the raven-haired boy smiled back at him, approaching the counter that seungmin had moved to stand behind.

"you're back!" hyunjin exclaimed, and seungmin's cheeks flushed and he nodded shyly. "i missed you!"

at this, seungmin's heart began to race even faster than it previously was. hyunjin had _missed_ him?

 _stop being ridiculous, seungmin,_ the brunet thought to himself. seungmin didn't much time to think about hyunjin's words, as the black-haired boy had begun explaining that he wanted an arrangement made. seungmin hurried to shake away his previous thoughts, turning his full attention to hyunjin's request.

"i was thinking yellow, this time?" hyunjin finished, and seungmin nodded. he hadn't caught the first part of his request, but at least he knew what color to use. he turned to the flower wall, pout forming on his face as he searched for the perfect flowers to use. he reached for some sunflowers and some daffodils, placing them in one of the vases that had been set aside for arrangements. he moved the vase to the counter in front of hyunjin. the boy admired the flowers.

seungmin turned around again, this time pulling a few white flowers and some greens to go with them, adding them into the vase with the sunflowers and daffodils. he frowned, turning the vase and adjusting the positioning of some of the stems, trying his best to make the arrangement look as beautiful as he possibly could. he hadn't heard who the arrangement was for, but was determined to make whoever had requested it happy with his work. hyunjin kept his eyes on seungmin's hands, watching closely as he worked, fascinated with the way the brunet worked.

once seungmin had finished, he looked up, giving hyunjin a firm nod.

"all finished!" he exclaimed. "if you like it, anyway. i can fix it if you need me to."

hyunjin vigorously shook his head, turning the vase so that he could view the arrangement from different angles.

"it's so pretty," he said, glancing up to meet seungmin's eyes. "it'll brighten up my apartment, for sure."

a slight shock washed over seungmin, but he quickly composed himself. he hadn't even known that he was making an arrangement specifically for hyunjin. his cheeks flushed red and he kicked his feet lightly against the floor. he was secretly happy that he hadn't known that it was for hyunjin; he probably would've been nervous the whole time and accidentally messed something up.

"thank you so much," hyunjin said, beaming at seungmin with that sunshine smile of his.

"no, thank you for being such a loyal customer!" seungmin replied, pretending that he hadn't heard felix's laughter (probably at his words) coming from the back room.

seungmin, as he always did, turned back to the flower wall, scanning for the correct bloom. he knew exactly which ones he would give to hyunjin that time.

he reached for two salvias, one red and one blue. he handed them to hyunjin, his heart skipping a beat as their fingers brushed.

hyunjin thanked him again shyly. he hesitated at the counter, looking as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. he instead, after paying, picked up his vase of flowers and said goodbye to seungmin, making his way out of the store. seungmin, once hyunjin had left, headed into the back room, collapsing into his folding chair. he sighed dreamily, felix rolling his eyes at him again.

"i gave him saliva this time," seungmin said and felix stared at him blankly.

"i think you're ridiculous."

this, of course, sparked yet another argument between the two as felix desperately tried his best to convince seungmin to ask hyunjin out on a date, which seungmin refused.

"i'm going to ask him for you," felix said, and seungmin laughed at him, but was unable to detect if the aussie was joking or not.


	8. ASTER

𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇: 𝓈𝓎𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒

x

"i win!"

"i think you're cheating..."

"nuh-uh!"

seungmin shook his head lightly as he walked up and down the rows of shelves, watering the flowers. felix and hyunjin had been competitively playing tic-tac-toe for the past ten minutes.

seungmin watered the last few flowerpots and then stepped outside, going to fill up the can. once he had, he headed to the employee break room, setting the watering can back in its place. he then went to the counter, standing beside felix.

"felix beat me the last four times!" hyunjin exclaimed, and seungmin smiled, looking over to felix, who wore a triumphant expression on his face. seungmin thought they were being ridiculous.

"wow, felix, i didn't know you were the tic-tac-toe master," seungmin said, unimpressed. felix didn't seem to notice his tone and beamed at him, placing a hand on his hip sassily.

"i've been training years just for this moment." the aussie turned away from seungmin, messily scrawling another tic-tac-toe board onto the piece of notebook paper that seungmin had given him.

"i get to go first this time!" hyunjin said, hurriedly drawing his x onto the board before felix could protest. seungmin rested his elbows on the counter, watching them play their game. he eventually glanced up to hyunjin, his cheeks heating up as he admired the boy's beauty. his raven-colored hair that fell so beautifully in front of his eyes, the cute beauty mark he had on his cheek, his plump lips. seungmin really believed that hyunjin was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

seungmin was broken out of his trance as felix subtly poked his side, and when the brunet turned to look at him, he was met with a side-eye and a knowing grin.

 _whatever, felix,_ seungmin thought to himself, smiling and cheering for hyunjin as he won the game of tic-tac-toe, finally. he gave hyunjin a high-five, the thought of properly holding the boy's hand making him feel giddy inside.

felix sighed dramatically, collapsing over the counter (and their piece of notebook paper). he began some kind of speech about how his title of tic-tac-toe master would go to hyunjin now that he had beaten him, which seungmin ignored. he had sat through felix's dramatics far too many times before.

he allowed himself to zone out again, losing himself in his mind, cute thoughts about the kinds of dates he would like to take hyunjin on and the gifts he would buy for him flooding his mind. he smiled as he stared down at the counter, letting out a quiet sigh of contentment.

"you're here so often, you should just work here."

at felix's words, seungmin snapped back into reality, a look of shock forming on his face. why hadn't he thought of that before?! working with felix _and_ hyunjin would be _so_ much fun, and then he'd get to see the black-haired boy every day! seungmin's heart raced at the idea and he eagerly looked up to gauge hyunjin's reaction to felix's joke.

hyunjin bit his lower lip, quiet as he thought about it. an excited look passed over his face for a moment, and seungmin's hopes were high. after a moment, he smiled, shaking his head.

"i can't," he replied, seungmin's face falling at his response. "working with you guys would be a lot of fun, but i don't think my mom would want me to quit my job."

felix and seungmin nodded, understanding.

"where do you work?" seungmin asked curiously. hyunjin brought his hand up to fix his hair, running his fingers through the dark strands, making seungmin swoon.

"my mom owns a bookstore," he explained. "my whole family works there, pretty much."

seungmin, never having heard about hyunjin's place of work before, smiled at him. he was able to perfectly picture hyunjin working at a bookstore.

seungmin asked him which bookstore it was, hoping that maybe one day, he (and probably felix) would be able to surprise the boy while he was working. felix seemed to know seungmin's plan, as once hyunjin had told them the name of the store, the aussie casually asked where it was located and if it was the one he was thinking of. seungmin looked over to his coworker, smiling at him subtly.

the sound of the bell above the door caught everyone's attention, and before seungmin could do anything, he was being pushed away by felix.

"i'll take care of it!" felix exclaimed, pushing seungmin from behind the counter, smiling at him sweetly. seungmin watched as his eyes quickly glanced between him and hyunjin. he knew what felix was doing.

"okay, thanks," seungmin said, feeling his cheeks heat up as hyunjin brushed up against him after stepping away from the counter. as the customer approached, seungmin took his chance and took hold of hyunjin's hand, pulling him away from the front of the store. he made sure to walk in front of the boy, not wanting him to see the redness of his cheeks. he led hyunjin through the rows of flowers, eventually coming to a stop near the tulips.

seungmin turned to face hyunjin, a wave of happiness surging through him as he noticed that hyunjin, too, was red-cheeked. he gave seungmin his signature sunshine smile, making his heart weak.

hyunjin brought his hand near seungmin's face, quickly running his fingers through the brunet's hair. seungmin felt like he was going to die.

"sorry, your hair was messed up," hyunjin explained, and seungmin nodded. he took a second to once again admire the boy's face, finding him as beautiful as ever.

it was only then did he realize that he was still holding onto hyunjin's hand, as neither of them had pulled their hands away when they had stopped walking.

he decided that he liked holding hyunjin's hand. as the boy shyly began describing what working at the bookstore was like, seungmin's mind was racing, his heart telling him to risk it all and ask the boy out on a date right then and there, his brain telling him that _that_ was a bad idea. he quietly took a deep breath, finally having worked up the courage to ask hyunjin out.

but before he could say anything, felix appeared from behind another row of flowers, startling both of them. hyunjin finally pulled away his hand, making seungmin frown.

"just thought i'd tell you that i just made probably the best arrangement you've ever seen," felix bragged, ignoring the murderous look that seungmin was giving him. "want to play tic-tac-toe again?"

seungmin silently cursed felix out, glaring at the back of his head as they walked back over to the counter. of course, the one time the aussie had decided to interrupt their conversation was the one time that seungmin was finally going to ask hyunjin out on a date.

hyunjin stayed for the rest of the day, the three of them having a good time together. seungmin and felix both enjoyed the boy's presence, glad that he always came into the shop to see them.

finally, closing time came and seungmin and felix grabbed their things from the employee break room. seungmin plucked an aster from the flower wall, handing the purple bloom to hyunjin, who smiled at him shyly, thanking him.

once they had all parted ways, seungmin sighed contently, sitting motionlessly in the driver's seat of his car as he thought. he had been _so_ close to asking hyunjin on a date. seungmin wished that felix hadn't interrupted, but decided that it was probably for the best. he didn't know what he would do with himself if hyunjin rejected him.

 _maybe some other time,_ seungmin thought, putting the car in drive.


	9. LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY

𝓁𝒾𝓁𝓎-𝑜𝒻-𝓉𝒽𝑒-𝓋𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎: 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝓅𝓊𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝓅𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒

x

"hey seungmin."

"yes, felix?"

"truth or dare."

seungmin looked up from his phone, giving felix an unimpressed look. he had a feeling that he knew where the aussie was going with his game proposition.

"um, truth?" seungmin replied, laughing quietly as felix sighed at him.

"you're so boring." felix huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "so, you definitely have a crush on hyunjin, right?"

seungmin's cheeks tinted red. "no."

"hey, you're not allowed to lie during truth or dare! that defeats the point!" felix protested. seungmin brought his hands up to his face, hiding.

"why would you bother asking a question that you already know the answer to?!" seungmin asked, peeking through his fingers, fuming as he saw felix's cheeky smile.

"i just wanted to hear you say it out loud," felix replied, laughing again at seungmin's state. "truth or dare?"

seungmin sat up, flustered. "isn't it my turn to ask you?"

felix shook his head, dismissing seungmin's words with a flick of his wrist.

"okay, well i dare you to ask hyunjin for his number today."

seungmin stared at felix, jaw dropped slightly open at felix's words.

"are you serious?" seungmin asked and felix shrugged.

"why wouldn't i be serious?" felix said, and seungmin shook his head vigorously.

"i'm not doing that," seungmin said, returning his attention back to his phone.

"it's a dare, you have to," felix chuckled, and seungmin looked up at him, giving him the same deadpan stare he had when the aussie had brought up truth or dare in the first place.

"yeah, but don't we get one chicken?" seungmin shot back, and felix pouted.

"you're _really_ no fun."

"and you're _really_ annoying." seungmin smiled at felix, standing from his folding chair and exiting the employee break room, deciding to stand behind the counter. he would wait for another customer to enter the store.

felix followed shortly after, joining seungmin behind the counter. he leaned against the surface, smile coming to his face as he heard the bell above the door jingle. seungmin thought it was safe to assume that the customer wasn't hyunjin, as they hadn't greeted the both of them by yelling good morning to them.

after a few minutes, the customer brought a flowerpot to the counter and seungmin rang them up. the bell jingled again, and this time, felix and seungmin were met with the loud voice of hyunjin. seungmin smiled, taking the credit card from the customer who was now giving him an odd look. after he had completed the payment, he handed the card back, giving the customer a smile and a 'have a good day'.

felix had already abandoned seungmin, running off into the store so that he could greet hyunjin first. seungmin raced after him, scared that his coworker would tell hyunjin about the crush he had on him.

once he had found felix and hyunjin, he walked over to them, standing beside felix. he shyly greeted hyunjin.

"good morning," hyunjin said back, smiling brightly at seungmin. "i need an arrangement done today."

seungmin nodded, smiling back at him. he turned away, heading back over to the counter so that he could prepare the flowers. hyunjin and felix followed behind him.

"they're for my mom," hyunjin continued, letting his arms rest on the counter. "she requested peonies."

"got it." seungmin turned to the flower wall, plucking the pink and red blossoms from their place. he set them in a vase that was already filled with water, then turned back to the wall, scanning it for flowers that would look nice with the peonies.

"good fortune and prosperity," felix said, and seungmin swore he felt his heart sink into his shoes. he wanted nothing more than to turn around and glare at felix, but he tried his best to remain calm, pulling some greens from the wall.

he added the greens to the vase, feeling his heart sink even further as he saw the confused look on hyunjin's face.

"what?" hyunjin asked, and felix nodded. seungmin stared at him, but the aussie ignored him.

"that's what peonies symbolize," felix explained, seungmin absolutely hating the cheeky grin that was forming on felix's face. seungmin turned away again, not knowing what to do, so he decided to say nothing and continued making the arrangement.

"oh, wow!" hyunjin said, and felix smiled at him.

"yep, it's cool. all flowers have meanings," felix further explained, making seungmin want to die. he took the final handful of stems from the flower wall and stared at the vase, thinking for a moment how he should arrange them. once he had an idea, he looked over to felix, catching the aussie's eyes. felix gave him a look that told seungmin that he knew _exactly_ what he was doing. "like, roses symbolize love or romance and daisies symbolize innocence."

"i didn't know that," hyunjin said, and felix nodded. seungmin stared intensely at the flowers as he worked, already planning in his head exactly what he was going to say to felix as soon as hyunjin left the store. "do a lot of people know about that?"

felix hummed, shrugging. "i don't know. seungmin and i both know flower meanings, though."

seungmin felt felix lightly step on his foot, making it all the more clear to seungmin that he knew what he was doing.

"maybe i'll look up some flower meanings later," hyunjin said, and felix smiled again.

"you definitely should. it's super interesting."

_god dammit, felix,_ seungmin thought to himself, forcing a smile on his face as he pushed the arrangement towards hyunjin, having finished making it. he quite liked how it had turned out, but was too busy being worried about what would happen as a result of felix's suggestion to fully appreciate it.

"thanks!" hyunjin said, clapping excitedly as he saw the finished product. "my mom will love it."

seungmin sighed quietly, turning to the flower wall once again. even if felix had just possibly ruined everything, he would still give a flower to hyunjin. he pulled one from the wall, handing it to hyunjin, who's face lit up as it always did.

"what is this one called?" hyunjin asked. felix quietly laughed, making seungmin fume again.

"it's a lily-of-the-valley," seungmin answered sweetly, and hyunjin nodded after a moment, sunshine smile appearing on his face, blinding seungmin.

after paying, hyunjin was on his way, carrying his vase of flowers and the lily-of-the-valley he had been given with him out the door. as soon as the door had shut, seungmin turned to felix, ready to tell him off. the aussie, noticing this, ran off immediately, laughing loudly as he weaved in and out of the shelves, trying his best to get away from seungmin.

"do you even know what you just did, you idiot?!" seungmin yelled, receiving no answer from felix who continued to laugh and run away.

_god dammit, felix._


	10. TULIP

𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝓊𝓁𝒾𝓅: 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒

𝓎𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝓊𝓁𝒾𝓅: 𝓈𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒

x

felix hadn't come in that day. seungmin was once again left in the flower shop completely alone, sighing as he leaned dramatically over the counter. he was bored out of his mind, desperately wishing for something, anything, to happen so that he wouldn't have to be bored and alone anymore.

it was almost as the universe had heard his many pleads for something interesting to happen. the bell above the door jingled and in from outside rushed hyunjin, making seungmin's heart race. hyunjin had decided to come in twice that week?! it was tuesday, the boy had come in the store the previous day. seungmin grinned; he was always happy to talk to hyunjin. upon seeing the black-haired boy's expression, however, his happiness slowly faded into worry.

"good morning, hyunjin," seungmin said once the boy had reached the counter. seungmin studied his face, frowning. "is everything okay?"

hyunjin ignored his question, crossing his arms over the counter. "good morning. i need a blue arrangement today."

seungmin nodded, wondering what was going on. he turned away from hyunjin, scanning the flower wall for the flowers that he thought would look nice together in an arrangement. he silently made the arrangement, a feeling of uneasiness developing within him as he worked. the air around them felt... different, and seungmin didn't know why.

seungmin had finished in no time, looking up to hyunjin nervously, waiting for approval. hyunjin, of course, liked the arrangement, a small smile forming on his previously serious face. seungmin hesitated, unsure as to whether or not he should give the boy extra flowers that day.

of course he would. how could he not? giving hyunjin flowers had definitely become a habit by that point. seungmin turned away, humming lightly as he looked for the perfect flower. he smiled as he spotted the tulips, deciding that he would give hyunjin a red one and a yellow one. he took hold of the stems, turning around to hand them to hyunjin. the boy took them, studying them. after a moment, he looked up, eyes meeting seungmin's.

"so, i looked up the meanings of flowers last night, like felix told me to."

seungmin's heart dropped, his jaw lightly falling open before he composed himself. he plastered a smile onto his face, praying that hyunjin couldn't see right through it.

"oh, you did?" seungmin asked, his grip so tight on the counter that his knuckles had gone white. "it's cool, right?"

hyunjin stared at him blankly for a moment. he then nodded, the serious expression never leaving his face.

"did you mean all of those things when you gave those flowers to me?"

and, just like that, seungmin felt like he was about to either pass out or die. he remained silent, hating how fast his heart was beating, hating every single second that passed by without him giving a response. he tried his best to calm himself down, sighing quietly. he would just have to tell hyunjin the truth.

"yeah, i meant it," seungmin sighed, eyes flickering down to the floor. "i really, really like you, hyunjin. ever since the day you first came in, i thought you were _so_ beautiful and i wanted to tell you, but i didn't know how, so i gave you flowers, because i assumed you didn't know their meanings. but now you do know."

seungmin felt his cheeks heat up, accidentally having said way more than he wanted to. "i'm sorry if it makes our friendship awkward, or something. we can just pretend that never happened, if you want."

at hyunjin's silence, seungmin glanced up to meet his eyes.

"you... really like me?" hyunjin asked quietly, looking down at the tulips, turning them over his hands gently. seungmin nodded, sighing.

"i'm sorry," seungmin said. "let's just forget this ever happened, okay?"

hyunjin looked up suddenly, seungmin studying his face, trying to figure out how the boy was feeling.

"i don't want to forget," hyunjin said quietly, and seungmin wasn't even sure that he had heard hyunjin properly.

"you... what?" seungmin asked, wanting hyunjin to repeat what he had said.

"seungmin, i like you too!" the brightest and prettiest smile formed on hyunjin's face, and seungmin's jaw dropped. _hyunjin liked him back?!_ seungmin beamed back, feeling as if he was soaring through the sky. he was _so_ happy.

"why didn't you tell me sooner?" hyunjin asked, and seungmin bit his lip.

"i was too scared. i almost did once, but felix interrupted us." seungmin frowned, recalling the moment. hyunjin reached over the counter, taking hold of seungmin's hand, making his heart leap at the touch.

"you don't have to be scared anymore," hyunjin said, smile never leaving his face. "seungmin, would you go on a date with me?"

the brunet beamed, giving hyunjin's hand a squeeze. "i would love to go on a date with you."

seungmin admired the boy's face, finding him _so_ beautiful. he was elated, so grateful that hyunjin had liked him back after all.

hyunjin gave him that sunshine smile again, and seungmin was happy.

x END x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading and supporting!! this book got literally no love on wattpad which makes me so sad, i love this book sm hahhaha i hope you've enjoyed <3


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